VB Blog

Paper: New Keylogger on the Block

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 5, 2016

In a new paper published by Virus Bulletin, Sophos researcher Gabor Szappanos takes a look at the KeyBase keylogger, sold as a commercial product and popular among cybercriminals who use it in Office exploit kits.

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BSides Denver to take place the day after VB2016

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jun 28, 2016

VB2016, the 26th International Virus Bulletin conference, is an excellent reason to go to Denver, Colorado in the first week of October. But there is another reason to come to Denver: BSides Denver, which will take place the day after VB2016, on Saturday 8 October 2016.

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VB2015 paper: DDoS Trojan: A Malicious Concept that Conquered the ELF Format

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Jun 13, 2016

In their VB2015 paper, Peter Kálnai and Jaromír Hořejší look at the current state of DDoS trojans forming covert botnets on unsuspecting systems. The paper provides a technical analysis of the most important malware families, focusing on infection methods, dynamic behaviour, C&C communication, obfuscation techniques, advanced methods of persistence and stealth, and elimination of rivals.

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Throwback Thursday: Hyppönen, that Data Fellow / Finnish Sprayer

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Jun 2, 2016

This week, well known and universally respected industry guru Mikko Hyppönen celebrates his 25th anniversary of working at F-Secure (formerly known as Data Fellows). VB takes a look back in the archives at two articles published in 1994: an "insight" into the life and work of the then rising star of the anti-virus world, and a virus analysis penned by the man himself.

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VB2015 paper: Economic Sanctions on Malware

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Jun 1, 2016

Financial pressure can be a proactive and potentially very effective tool in making our computer ecosystems safer. By cleverly employing various trust metrics and technologies such as digital signing, watermarking, and public-key infrastructure in strategically selected places, we can encourage good behaviours and punish bad ones. In his VB2015 paper, Igor Muttik analyses and gives examples of technologies (certificates, credentials, etc.) to de-incentivize bad behaviours in several ecosystems (Windows, Android, iOS).

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Virus Bulletin's job site for recruiters and job seekers

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 26, 2016

Virus Bulletin has relaunched its security job vacancy service and added a new section, in which job seekers can advertise their skills and experience.

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Throwback Thursday: One_Half: The Lieutenant Commander?

Posted by   Helen Martin on   May 26, 2016

In October 1994, a new multi-partite virus appeared, using some of the techniques developed by the Dark Avenger in Commander_Bomber. As if this were not enough, the One_Half virus could also encrypt vital parts of the fixed disk. Eugene Kaspersky provided a detailed analysis.

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Advertisements on Blogspot sites lead to support scam

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 9, 2016

Support scam pop-ups presented through malicious advertisements show that, next to vulnerable end points, gullible users remain an easy source of money for online criminals.

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To make Tor work better on the web, we need to be honest about it

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 6, 2016

Many websites put barriers in front of visitors who use the Tor network. If we want to make the web more accessible through Tor, we need to be honest about why this is done, rather than cry wolf about a dislike for privacy, Martijn Grooten says.

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Paper: How It Works: Steganography Hides Malware in Image Files

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 28, 2016

A new paper by CYREN researcher Lordian Mosuela takes a close look at Gatak, or Stegoloader, a piece of malware that was discovered last year and that is controlled via malicious code embedded in a PNG image, a technique known as steganography.

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Search blog

MS gaining fast in AV-Comparatives tests

Detection rates up 7% in six months, more improvement predicted.
Detection rates up 7% in six months, more improvement predicted.AV-Comparatives have released the results of their latest test of detection rates, pitting 17 scanners already known… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/ms-gaining-fast-av-comparatives-tests/

September issue of VB published

The September issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The September issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The September 2007 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/september-issue-vb-published/

Sender authentication checks on the rise

SPF records creep into top ten content triggers checked by ISPs.
SPF records creep into top ten content triggers checked by ISPs. A report by email marketing software provider Lyris has revealed that use of the Sender Policy Framework (SPF)… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/sender-authentication-checks-rise/

Unsafe computing in abundance

Reports and statistics on unsafe computing practices.
Reports and statistics on unsafe computing practices. Last month saw a flurry of reports and statistics on unsafe computing practices. To kick off, almost a quarter of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/unsafe-computing-abundance/

September

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/

Sony in more rootkit rows

Accusations of sneakiness and unsafe practices hit media giants again.
Accusations of sneakiness and unsafe practices hit media giants again.Sony has been tangled up in two separate rootkit scares in the past few days, with a brief outcry over hidden… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/08/sony-more-rootkit-rows/

YouTube latest Storm hook

Fake video links aim to pull in yet more victims.
Fake video links aim to pull in yet more victims. The never-ending stream of 'Storm' attacks continued over the weekend with a new tactic - the latest spammed email campaign… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/08/youtube-latest-storm-hook/

Latest VB100 announced

Novell NetWare server products to be tested.
Novell NetWare server products to be tested. VB has issued a call for submissions for the latest VB100 comparative review, which will measure the performance of products for the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/08/latest-announced/

FBI-led panel to provide insight into international fight against cybercrime

International law enforcement agencies set to join forces at VB2007 in Vienna.
International law enforcement agencies set to join forces at VB2007 in Vienna. International law enforcement agencies are set to join forces at the VB2007 anti-malware conference… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/08/fbi-led-panel-provide-insight-international-fight-against-cybercrime/

String of vulnerabilities found in ServerProtect

Several minor holes patched in Trend Micro corporate product.
Several minor holes patched in Trend Micro corporate product. A series of security issues have been reported in Trend Micro's ServerProtect server-level product, which could allow… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/08/string-vulnerabilities-found-serverprotect/

Four charged with writing Fujacks

Malware authors and sellers appear in Chinese court.
Malware authors and sellers appear in Chinese court. Four men have appeared in a public court in Hubei Province, China, charged with writing, selling and spreading the W32/Fujacks… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/08/four-charged-writing-fujacks/

AVK tops latest AV-Test charts

Top four beat 99% in large collection scan.
Top four beat 99% in large collection scan. Testers at AV-Test.org have run 29 products over a massive collection of malware samples, with detection rates measured against 874,822… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/08/avk-tops-latest-av-test-charts/

Latest Storm barrage offers site memberships

New tactic provides logins to special-interest sites.
New tactic provides logins to special-interest sites. The 'Storm' attack has changed tactic yet again, with the latest set of spams providing login details to a wide selection of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/08/latest-storm-barrage-offers-site-memberships/

Monster haul of data reaped from job site

Trojan gathers 1.6 million sets of jobseeker records.
Trojan gathers 1.6 million sets of jobseeker records. Researchers at Symantec have reported discovering a server carrying 1.6 million entries from the popular jobseeking website… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/08/monster-haul-data-reaped-job-site/

ClamAV taken over by Sourcefire

Snort maker buys into open-source AV.
Snort maker buys into open-source AV. Open-source anti-virus product ClamAV has been acquired by Sourcefire, the US-based company behind leading open-source intrusion detection… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/08/clamav-taken-over-sourcefire/

Phish poses as Sophos malware alert

Fake security alarm lures users to spoofed site.
Fake security alarm lures users to spoofed site. A phishing email recently spammed out uses the name of security firm Sophos to lend credence to a fake malware alert, designed to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/08/phish-poses-sophos-malware-alert/

Webcam zero-day in Yahoo! Messenger

Video chat invites pose vulnerability danger.
Video chat invites pose vulnerability danger. A zero-day vulnerability has been reported in the webcam module of Yahoo! Messenger, allowing attackers remote access to systems open… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/08/webcam-zero-day-yahoo-messenger/

14 flaws fixed in bumper Patch Tuesday

Critical remote execution and hijack holes closed.
Critical remote execution and hijack holes closed.Microsoft's monthly 'Patch Tuesday' security bulletin includes nine separate bulletins this month, covering a total of 14… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/08/14-flaws-fixed-bumper-patch-tuesday/

Storm e-card malware keeps on coming

No end to flood of fake friendly greetings.
No end to flood of fake friendly greetings. A further wave of e-cards carrying links to 'Storm' malware (various labelled Nuwar, Peacomm, Dorf, Zhelatin) has been hitting inboxes… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/08/storm-e-card-malware-keeps-coming/

AV testing practices questioned

Professional and amateur tests criticised.
Professional and amateur tests criticised. Last week, IT industry commentator and renowned anti-anti-virus writer Robin Bloor released a typically inflammatory article implying… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/08/av-testing-practices-questioned/

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